An object designed for smooth and efficient movement relative to a fluid medium such as air or water faces an obstacle called surface drag. As the object moves relative to the medium, its surface tends to tow along with it a sheath of air or water adjacent to the object's surface. This sheath, which envelopes the object's surface, tows along with it successive envelopes of air or water which ultimately create a near vacuum as the laminar flow of the medium leaves the object. This vacuum acts as a drag on the object's movement relative to the medium.
Prior art attempts at solving this problem have all been confined to placing uniformly spaced, sized, and shaped surface deviations over the entire surface of an object that contacts the fluid medium. These attempts, however, have failed to consider the fact that fluid mediums swirl upon contacting an object. In addition, placing surface deviations over the entire surface of an object can be costly, as well as time-consuming.